1 page essay

Marketing Plan Summary Outline

Marketing 3300.001

Professor Bigham

Your marketing plan is designed to assist you in understanding the essentials to success in the field of marketing. It is constructed to aid you in the understanding of basic marketing terminology and methods such as the 4P’s, SWOT Analysis, and the Environmental Scan.

Whether you practice in the field of marketing and its many offshoots such as advertising, design, and public relations, or employ it in various aspects of other careers such as IT, Finance, Biology, or Chemistry, having a good grasp of marketing disciplines and nuances will assist you in both your personal life and professional career.

Your marketing plan will be best served with the following components:

A. Cover Page: The University of Texas at Dallas; Marketing Plan; Title; Your Name; Date Submitted; Marketing 3300.001; Professor Bigham

B. Table of Contents: list all 15 topics

C. Executive Summary: (complete last, max 1.5 pages) summarize key points; repeat by design what follows; “put me on the page with you”; and Bold Face each lead in of:

What your plan is about (D); why you are conducting it (E); what is your objective (F); who is it for (G); what is the environmental scan (H); list your marketing mix (I); detail your SWOT analysis (J); note who is your competition and UVP (K); state your consumer’s behavior (L); list your COG (M); what is your conclusion and CTA (N); where you located your information; and do all legibly and coherently (10 points)

D. Mission Statement: short and crisp (see Google examples) (1 point)

E. Vision Statements: short and crisp, not same as Mission Statement (Google) (1 point)

F. Marketing Objectives: 1) describe your product/service/cause; 2) what do you plan to do; 3) why/what problem do you solve or need met; 4) by when; 5) how much (sales revenue, “we will generate XX% of income/awareness/results among YY target markets for $ZZ in revenue/outreach) (10 points)

G. Target Market(s): 3 clear descriptions of each of the following; 1) demographics; 2) psychographics; and 3) target market traits (9 points)

H. Environmental Scan: 1) Regulatory or legal trends; 2) Economic; 3) Acts of God; 4) Competitive; 5) Technology; 6) Social [REACTS] (10 points)

I. Marketing Mix: one to two sentences max on each of: 1) product; 2) place; 3) price; and 4) promotion (12 points)

J. SWOT Analysis: list f our key points for each element of: 1) Strengths; 2) Weaknesses; 3) Opportunities; and 4) Threats (16 points)

K. Competition and Unique Value Proposition: 1) how are you different; 2) what are your features and benefits; and 3) what is your competitive edge (9 points)

L. Consumer Behavior: 1) consumption drivers; 2) decision-making processes (8 points)

M. Cost-of-goods Sold (estimated): 1) what is the retail price; 2) cost per item; 3) sales volume needed by when to reach your goal; 4) how long to profitability (8 points)

N. Conclusion and CTA: proclaim your end statement and a “call to action” (CTA) i.e., what does this mean and what is your next step; practice finishing strong (2 points)

O. Style: following the guidelines below (4 points) (100 points total)

Steps to Success

1. Sketch out and plan what you are going to write before writing

2. Brain dump; create a loose outline; avoid obsessing with order or flow here

3. Jot down what you know or need to know; use sticky notes or cards

4. Percolate and sleep on what you have to date (see Ogilvy’s tips on writing)

5. First draft is never the final draft, leave TBA or XYZ for place holders to follow

6. Great is the enemy of good here, get it good, then good enough, and maybe great

7. Pull loose ends together in your second draft and check what is missing

8. Start the flow and check grammar and spelling in third draft

9. Once comfortable with your content draft, sleep on it, then next day read it out loud

10. Have someone proofread it for format, clarity, and grammar

11. Long page counts don’t help; be clear, concise, and crisp; 8-10 content pages max.

Format Guidelines

a. 12-point Times Roman/New Times Roman for body text; title page sans serif

b. One-inch margins

c. Flush left and rag right (never justified)

d. Double space each page

e. Number each section as above A to O

f. State in bold face type what you are covering, i.e. “Price – the amount…”

g. Avoid making me guess that you know; if I guess, I will guess you don’t know

h. Make it easy for me to give you a higher grade; follow the rules

i. Cover each point listed

j. When all else fails, follow the directions